We are full time travelers searching for new adventures and roads less traveled. We are learning to live our lives from a new spiritual awareness…a "No Worries", "Hakuna Matata" philosophy. Join us on our journey and please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions or questions. We love hearing from our readers! Our email address is hittheroad57@hotmail(dot)com. Please replace (dot) with .

Where We've Been (46 out of 50 States)...Where We Are!

Friday, December 26, 2014

This is the first time in over 8 years that we were not on a
Christmas tree lot on his birthday so we were able to celebrate. He feels bad since I had the worst birthday
ever being on the pumpkin lot this past October 29th but he deserves
to have a grand birthday anyway.

He worked some long hours his first weekend cooking in the
Café and I hardly put in any hours, but I am diligently creating my personal
works online and eventually they will pay off.
Since next week is the busiest time of all and we will both be working
10 days straight, we had thought we would just hang out here on our 4 days off,
it being the Christmas holidays and all.
But when we discussed it further we decided to take a short trip for a
few days to celebrate his birthday properly.

We took a very scenic drive over the mountains and through
the woods…no just kidding just over the mountains and through the canyons but not
to grandmother’s house instead to Barona Resort & Casino where the “Orb”
luck continued.

Our entire stay was paid for with a jackpot we hit…

We enjoyed crab, prime rib, lobster and so many other scrumptious
goodies eating their very expensive buffet, but for us…free!

We stayed in a very comfortable King-size room on the 8th
floor with a wonderful view, again…free.

We played for a few hours in the casino…once again…yes you
got it…free!

Now that was the way to celebrate a fantastic birthday!

The drive was spectacular, the scenery was exquisite, the
roads a bit gnarly at times and we will not be heading back in this direction
any time soon. The warning signs were
posted but since we are only 28’ we felt it would be alright and it was but
once was enough. When it takes 2 hours
to drive a little over 60 miles you know the roads are a bit overwhelming,
especially when they allow semis carrying full loads of hay. If we would have met them on one of those
curves the outcome would have been…well let’s just say we do not want to go
there.

Funny how during the most treacherous parts of the drive, we
have no photos…must be that we are both too busy driving and praying to take
any photos. For more photos, please do
visit our Web Albums.

We returned on Christmas Eve just in time before the wicked
wind came across the desert and of course it had to hit in the wee hours of the
morning. At midnight it began rocking us
around but I was able to fall back asleep with the gentle rocking and thought
this may not be too bad, but at 2:30am all hell broke loose. I got in my “safe place” the driver’s seat
and watched as the wind picked up the sand and one after another became sand
storms whirling by, there were times visibility was nonexistent and it lasted
for hours. The wind whipped so hard at
times we thought for sure something on Maggie was going to fly off but again
she proved to us just how tough she is. Finally
around daybreak I was able to get back into bed to sleep a few hours. Not a night I want to repeat any time soon.

The dust inside the house was an inch thick everywhere, so
that is how we spent our Christmas day, vacuuming and dusting the entire rig. We did take some time to reflect on the true
spirit of Christmas and how happy we are to be out of that rat race of buying
gifts and all the hoopla of it all. We
would much rather just be with one another and share our thoughts, hopes and
dreams and are always happy when it is all over and the new year brings new
exciting adventures.

Monday, December 22, 2014

We have been full time traveling about ten years and the
other day a thought came to me, I wondered how many miles had we driven in all
those years. For us it was an easy answer. We keep a diary book for every transaction
that was done on our RV from the day we bought it including mileage. So all I had to do was a little bit of
calculating.

First get the mileage on our RV subtract it from the
beginning mileage when we bought her and then a little rough estimating for the
first 18 months we were full timing prior to getting Maggie. The answer surprised us but didn’t all at the
same time. In total we have traveled
around 80,000 miles which is about 8,000 per year…wow!

Even though we crossed country more times than not, on those
times we did not, we put on many miles up and down the west coast and all sorts
of side trips in between. We truly do
love to travel and not stay in one place for too long and the miles prove to us
that is how we love our lifestyle to stay.

Do you have any idea how many miles you have traveled in
your full timing lifestyle?

Are you able
to calculate exactly as we were able to or do you have to guesstimate?

Do you even care?

We found it exciting to see all the miles we
have put on Maggie and see how well she has held up for us, especially when we
see she is approaching 200,000 miles and is still running strong. Well at least we think it is 200,000 and not 300,000
miles. The odometer does not have a
hundred thousand digit and we watched it go over the 99,999 once so we know she
is at least reaching the 200,000 miles but it could have been another 100,000
by the previous owners since she is a 1992 and we did not get her until
2006. Either way she is and has been a
really tough gal and we appreciate her every mile she has given to us, especially
when we read about others who purchased much newer ones and have been in and
out of the repair shops more times than we could even imagine or even consider.

We hope you all have a safe and happy upcoming holiday, life
is too short to dwell on what could have or should have been. Live each and every moment with as much joy
as you can muster up especially during those troubling times and you will come
out of it eventually a lot wiser.

Friday, December 19, 2014

We left Earp, California on Monday and had a great travel
day to Quartzsite. We had hoped to do
SOME shopping but we had never been to the area in December so we did not know
what to expect, but we did think there would be a bit more activity then what
we seen. A few of the stores we needed
to pick up items were open but a lot more were not even set up yet. We did get our vitamins at the Pink Store and while we were
there we rubbed the Giant Orb and lo and behold the good luck is coming on
strong.

Another perfect drive through Yuma into Winterhaven,
California to overnight in the parking lot at Quechan Casino but instead we hit
a few big jackpots and ended up getting a room for the night. We took long, hot showers and just hung out
enjoying ourselves. It was perfect to
leave with a lot more money than we came with and that is including a wee bit
of gambling, a few meals, and the cost of the room…love that orb!

We Arrived in Ocotillo Wells or Borrego Springs, California
whichever city you choose to say, with yet another great travel day even though
we did drive into a few areas of very thick fog.

We are now in the middle of nowhere, open
scenery that goes forever with perfect views of the mountains, not cold, just
cool winter temperatures. It will be
nice for a few months, but we will be long gone before the heat hits this area
for sure. Highs close to 120 degrees do
not appeal to neither of us, we live a life that guarantees we will not make it
to hell when we die, so we agree not to be there in our lives on earth.

We have met the owners and some of our co-workers and feel
it will be a nice fit for a short time.
And, we really look forward to be able to check out the area on our time
off and some other places within a few hours drive that we have been wanting to
visit.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

We stayed here several years ago at this Sunbelt Resort
but never reviewed it.

We paid $10 using our Coast to Coast membership for a water,
electric, sewer, semi level gravel, pull through site. There were no additional charges but since we
did not make a reservation through Coast to Coast they had us pay the $10 in
cash instead of points.

They have some planned activities since it seems to be a
place where snowbirds come and stay for longer terms. The common areas are well maintained and kept clean.

Being on the frontage road to Interstate 8 there was
traffic noise and with the train tracks located just on the other side of the
highway it too made for a noisy night but we slept right through it all.

The restrooms, showers and laundry area are outdated and
pretty worn out but since we never use their facilities this is not an issue
for us.

There is not much around the surrounding area so for us
it would not be an ideal place to hang out for more than one night passing
through. So we would stay again if we
are ever in the area again and would recommend it for an overnight stay.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

We had stayed here previously
but never did a review or took photos, so this time we did. Even though there isn’t much to take photos
of since they do not have restrooms, showers, laundry room or a pool…just sites
to park your rig.

The sites like many of the RV
parks in Quartzsite is just a site on gravel, but the big difference here is
this entire area turns into vendor tents beginning in just a few short weeks
and there will be no overnight stays allowed.

We paid $25 for a water, electric, sewer on flat gravel site. There are no facilities, no
pools, no clubhouses but they do have an office and some pretty good vendor
tents beginning now through the Big RV Show and a few weeks afterwards.

They have no pet policy and
was apparent when we noticed our site was loaded with doggy doo and several
dogs in the area just running free.

This area will look entirely
different in a short time now and we have been here often, both during and
before or after the big show but it never ceases to amaze us how different this
entire town looks with the show and then without it.

There are hardly any RV’s
and/or vendors at this time but come and check it out in a few weeks and there
will not be a spot available for you to do it.If you are planning to visit the area, make sure to get your reservations,
some parks are already full.

Monday, December 15, 2014

Now whenever we visit
Quartzsite, even though we have a few favorite restaurants we always try a new one. This visit we noticed a family style restaurant
and decided to check it out.

Service was excellent, very
friendly and quick. They had some funny books on each table by Ben Goode, we had some good laughs waiting for our food.

It was lunch time so Jerry
had the special which was a Grilled Turkey & Cheese on Sourdough bread and
it was delicious. The turkey was thinly
sliced, the bread was soft but crunchy and the cheese was melted to perfection.

I had the Grilled Corned Beef
on Rye, the kraut had just a slight tang to it and the corned beef was tender
and juicy just the way I like it.

The only bad thing we could
say about this place is that the sandwiches are the smallest we had ever seen. Even though the meat was plentiful on the
sandwiches it really did not have much to fill up since the bread was tiny.

We would recommend it and we
would return but it did not come close to being on one of our favorites in
Quartzsite list.For more photos, check out our Google + Web Albums.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

We are once again writing and making some extra money from it and since we had already established ourselves with Examiner we chose to once again write for them. We hope we can get more visitors this time around and maybe get some bigger royalty checks. One can only hope!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

This is why we began living this lifestyle, no set plans and
just sort of winging it. It has always
worked for us but the main ingredient is faith, something we lack at times but
for now we are hanging on and just enjoying the moment.

We left Vegas and made a short drive to Bullhead City,
Arizona just across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada where we stayed for
a week. The weather there is fantastic,
highs in the 70’s and lows in the 50’s, clear skies with wind periodically
breezing through. Not the forceful winds
we dealt with in Desert Hot Springs but the kind that blows through and makes a
quiet statement to let us know it is there.
It catches our attention, especially in the middle of the night but we
are still able to sleep with our window open.
How nice is that?

We took a bike ride over the river to Laughlin so Jerry
could purchase me my diamond ring. We
usually replace it every year but it has been a lot longer this time and the
other one tarnished and I threw it away a few months back so it really needed
to be replaced. You see when we were in
the stationary lifestyle we agreed for our 10th wedding anniversary
we would get me a diamond ring to go with my wedding band but living this
lifestyle changed all of those high finance options. We are both good with that but instead we
found this little shop in Don Laughlin’s Riverside Casino that sells them for
$10 and we have been doing it since our 10th anniversary. The nice thing about it is that they look
real, I get hundreds of compliments and I am able to change the style all the
time. Now how many other woman can make
that same claim? A new diamond almost
every year, I am a lucky woman!

We left that area and headed to our next destination in
Earp, California at the Emerald Cove RV Resort where the plan was for us to
stay for 2 weeks but our “no particular place to go” changed. We had been actively looking for work, not
just the online work but other types of work and lo and behold we found what we
feel will be a fun couple of months beginning next week.

Working in Borrego Springs, California at a Café with a RVResort next to it for a few months.
Jerry will be the cook and I will be filling in whenever needed but we
will only be working weekends, we will have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off
for the most part. There will be a few
holiday weeks we will both be working 10 days straight with 12 hour days but
all hours over 8 are overtime.

Having those 3 days off we will still be able to visit the
area where we wanted to check out for some time now. The Salton Sea, the Fountain of Youth RVResort and we will even be able to visit the Quartzsite RV Show in January for a few days to
shop and visit, how perfect is this? A
really good find especially when we really were not looking. Best times in life are when we just go with what
feels right and not because we have to do it.
Life is pretty damn good!

Friday, December 05, 2014

Even though Vegas was not on our original plan we added it
once we realized we could. We wanted to
attend the NASCAR Champions Events for years now but were always working at the
tree lots so we never even considered it before but were thrilled that we could
check it out this year.

It was a perfect travel day, cool day with nice smooth roads. Apparently they have done some great paving
of many of the roads especially I-40.
The road was so smooth it felt as if we were gliding instead of the
treacherous bumps and holes there had been there for years, wow what a fabulous
difference.

We stayed at Sam’s Town RV Park, (now managed by KOA – check
out our separate review) and took a shuttle to Fremont Street and to the Strip
for the events.

The Red Carpet event was on Wednesday and we got to Fremont
Street very early and checked out the Red Carpet where the event was going to
take place, even got a photo of Jerry on it.
We were so early we could have been in the front row but we did not want
to sit around for hours and crowds are not our favorite thing so instead we
checked out a few of the casinos and had some lunch. After lunch, we found an area at the
beginning where the drivers get out of the Limo Bus to walk down the Red Carpet. It was pretty cool and I got a few good
photos from the many I took, check them all out at our photo gallery. They look so different in their street
clothes since we are so used to seeing them in their race gear.

On Thursday we took the shuttle to the Strip where we met a
couple, Tom & Cindy from Canada.
They were on the bus the day before with us and we decided to hang out
with them on the Strip to show them some of the transportation options since it
had been over 20 years since their last visit. They are a fun couple that we teased that they
were our stalkers since on the first day we ran into them several times on
Fremont Street and now they were going to follow us around. There were several times we took separate
avenues but always seemed to meet up again with them and even caught the same
bus back to the resort…stalkers indeed!

We checked out many of the casinos on the Strip and utilized
many of the modes of transportation, both free and the one that still charges
$5 per ride or $12 for an all-day ride.
With all the free trams becoming more and more available, they are going
to have to rethink charging so much per ride on the Las Vegas Monorail.

We found a great spot without too much of a crowd on one of
the overpasses to watch the Victory Lap.
The area was great to take photos and some of the guys even did some
burnouts right in front of us. It was
really cool to see them driving down Las Vegas Boulevard in their race cars.

We are not sure if we would attend again, Race Weeks are
much more exciting but we do recommend it for NASCAR fans to experience at
least once.

About Us

In February of 2005 we listened to our hearts and began living our dream lifestyle of full-time traveling. Taking photos of every state line in the USA, a photo of us in front of every NASCAR race track on the circuit and sharing our stories with our many readers is just a few of the things we accomplish while traveling.

We are great travel companions and we work well together in every aspect of our lives which is needed in this lifestyle. The challenging times that we twist into hilarious moments is just the beginning of the things we learned to do while living, working and loving in a small area together.

Follow along in our lifestyle and see where we will end up next...our plans often change as we learn to follow our hearts and go with the flow as full-time travelers.